Home: Sites in Action: Profile: South LA, Los Angeles County

Site Profiles

South Los Angeles, Los Angeles County

The Childhood Obesity Brain Trust (COBT)

Collaborating grantees:

The Accelerated School (lead agency); Los Angeles Unified School District; and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health- SPA 5/6. Other partners include: Coalition for Community Health, Saint John's Well Child Center, Sustainable Economic Enterprises of L.A. (SEE-L.A.), City of L.A. Commission for Children Youth and Their Families, Norwood St. Elementary School, Hooper St. Elementary School, Worksite Wellness L.A., Orthopaedic Hospital, South Central Family Health Center, Center for Food and Justice at Occidental College, California Food Policy Advocates, Esperanza Community Housing Corporation, L.A. Care, SOS Foundation, Los Angeles County Department of Physical Activity, Los Angeles Department of Nutrition, Los Angeles Department of Injury and Violence Prevention, Los Angeles Department of Public Health, Chronic Disease Division, and Community Health Council's REACH 2010 project.

The Childhood Obesity Brain Trust grew out of a series of discussions on the issues and impact of childhood obesity in South Central Los Angeles, including a Community Dialogue/Panel with Congressman Xavier Becerra in August 2004. COBT is comprised of a group of dedicated individuals and organizations with significant experience in health promotion/ disease prevention, health care, community outreach and education, community organizing, and an understanding of the needs of special populations.

Community Description

The HEAC project is focusing its efforts on people living in zip codes 90007 and 90011, with a total population of 146,235, predominately Latino residents (60%), and with significant numbers of African American (12%), Asian (11%) and white (16%) residents as well. Between 65% and 80% of the residents of these two zip codes speak English as a second language. 33-37% of children are overweight and 48-54% of children are not physically fit. Neighborhoods in this area are noted for a preponderance of fast food outlets and lack of access to safe spaces for physical activity.

For more on information on community efforts and accomplishments please click here.

News Coverage/Awards/Campaigns

• Salud con Sabor - Much progress has been made to date on this menu labeling initiative. We increased the participation of restaurants, from 80% to 100% participation through relationship-building and promotion of the benefits of menu labeling as an obesity reduction tool. Over 600 recipes (across 7 vendors) have been analyzed for nutritional content (calories, fat, saturated fat, sodium, fiber, carbohydrates) through a joint effort between our nutrition consultant, a registered dietician, and the LA County Department of Public Health's Nutrition Program. Temporary menu boards and brochures to be displayed at point of purchase have been developed and are currently located at each restaurant. We are in the process of developing the permanent menu boards containing calorie information for all regular menu items. We anticipate work to be completed by the end of February 2009 to be followed up by a media event to launch the SmartMenu Program at Mercado La Paloma.
• Permanent menu boards have been installed as part of the menu labeling project "La Salud Tiene Sabor/Smart Menu" at Mercado la Paloma.
• HEAC presented on the menu labeling project at the 2009 Childhood Obesity Conference in Los Angeles.
• Accomplishments have been noted by local elected officials and community groups who have expressed interest in replicating the menu labeling project in their areas.
• South LA HEAC successfully fielded requests for information and interviews about their market makeover work from international, national, and local media including Honky Tonk Multimedia Productions (France), the Associated Press, the LA Times, and the USC Annenberg School for Communication.

Key Policy Goals and Strategies

HEAC Phase I (2005-2009)

School Sector

• Enforce SB 12 and SB 965 standards district-wide.
• Improve the quality and participation in school breakfast, lunch and summer nutrition programs.
• Provide professional development for teachers and administrators on standards-based instruction for physical education.

After School Sector

• Support the City Child Nutrition Policy to provide healthy meals/snacks at all city funded programs, including vending and fundraising on city property.
• Create, adopt and implement comprehensive new policies to address physical activity in after school programs.
• In partnership with A World Fit For Kids, institutionalize a structured physical activity program in schools in which a credentialed teacher will extend physical activity instruction into the after school setting.

Neighborhood Sector

• Assess, identify and implement policies to improve the food and physical activity environment in the low income communities of South L.A.
• Recruit community residents and conduct train-the-trainer workshops on nutrition, policy/advocacy and physical activity.
• Conduct a series of Pedestrian Audits to advocate for safe, walkable neighborhoods.
• Work with pushcart vendors to assess knowledge, attitude and behavior regarding vending policies around schools.
• Train parents on LA Unified School District policies including the Obesity Prevention Motion, Cafeteria Reform Motion, and the Healthy Beverage Resolution.

Health Care Sector

• Expand health coverage to include primary and secondary prevention services.
• Support and promote LA County Vending Machine Policy and implement worksite wellness policies.

HEAC Phase II (2009-2010)

School and After School Sector

• Advocate so that Manual Arts H.S. and John Muir Middle School are participants of the Cafeteria Modernization Project.
• Develop a PE monitoring tool to ensure MVPA minutes are being enforced during school hours and measure school Physical education programs for MVPA during school classes at all designated schools.
• Dissemination of information gathered on MVPA to in physical education to Local Districts Superintendents to advocate for improvement on meeting the required minutes for physical education.
• Join LAUSD legislative committee to advocate for increased funding for elementary physical education teachers from district funds.
• Create the Coordinated Safe and Healthy School Plan Committee (CSHSP) to ensure full implementation of the Wellness Policy.
• Create a standards-based physical education curriculum guide for all LAUSD elementary school teachers, including HEAC designated schools.
• Advocate for federal nutrition standards for after school programs to improve resources brought into Norwood and Muir AS programs.
• Adopt and implement CDE activity guidelines before school, during recess and after school and disseminate information regarding CDE activity guidelines to teaching staff, students, and parents within all designated schools.
• Mobile kitchen program - During the after school program, introduce a healthy cooking club to students, parents & teachers at Norwood utilizing the mobile kitchen that has a blender, hot plate system, electric water kettle, cutting boards, utensils, etc. WFIT nutrition manager oversees program & trains high school & college coach/mentors to conduct the sessions.
• Train teen leaders from Manual Arts & Accelerated School to advocate for healthy behavior legislation at the local, state and national level based on experience & knowledge gained through HEAC involvement.
• Promote store changes among community residents, students and school administrators. Write articles for school newsletter/parent reminders and create media opportunities to highlight store changes.
• Collaborate with Community Health Councils, Inc. (CHC) and partners to advocate for full service supermarkets and sit down restaurants in South L.A.

Neighborhood and After School Sector

• Advocate for a "Fitness Zone" outdoor gym in a South L.A. Park. TPL has acquired funds from the Community Redevelopment Agency and Kaiser Permanente to establish outdoor gyms in local parks.
• Engage community residents in identifying perceived safety concerns to address crime, blight & safety and share information with city planners, Parks & Rec, traffic safety and law enforcement.
• Support implementation of menu labeling within city and county nutrition policy.
• Participate in L.A. County Nutrition Action Plan convened by the Network for a Healthy California.
• Disseminate "Market Makeover" web-based Tool Kit developed during HEAC Phase I. Tool kit will provide CBOs and others a step-by-step guide on how to engage youth and store owners in corner store conversion projects.
• Engage community (parents, students, residents) and partners to support and sustain El Mercado menu labeling and market makeover changes efforts.
• Support implementation of the youth networking and viral marketing initiative through the Youth Action Against Obesity (YAAO) initiative.
• Convene data collection training on how to access data through CHIS and the health department for COBT/HEAC partners.
• Participate in the newly reconvened SPA 6 Wellness Group within DPH to determine if HEAC can support ongoing wellness activities that are aligned with HEAC objectives.

To learn More, Contact:

The Accelerated School
Aurora Flores
323-235-6343, Ext.129

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, SPA 5 & 6
Pri De Silva
213-748-8028

Los Angeles Unified School District
Adriana Camara
213-241-2575

Accomplishments

• In partnership with Sustainable Economic Enterprises of L.A. (SEE-LA), trained six community health promoters as HEAC Health Ambassadors to teach practical food budgeting, nutrition skills-building, and hands-on cooking that emphasizes the use of fresh vegetables and fruits available at farmers' markets. Participants also received policy/advocacy training and physical activity instruction.
• Adapted Kaiser Permanente childhood overweight prevention presentations and train-the-trainer workshops to 1-2 hour modules and conducted them at targeted S. Los Angeles clinics, often in the form of lunchtime grand rounds. The workshops were overwhelmingly well-attended and well-received, thanks in large part to their being conducted during already scheduled lunchtime clinical staff meetings.
• Formed a partnership with the Los Angeles County Community Health Plan, Office of Managed Care. Working closely with the Medical Director, conducted a baseline provider survey and various pediatric overweight management and prevention trainings to interested clinics, such as the H. Claude Hudson Comprehensive Health Center.
• Partnered with Kaiser Permanente to implement a community-adapted version of the highly acclaimed Kaiser Permanente Kids in Dynamic Motion (KP KIDS) Pediatric Weight Management Program in H. Claude Hudson in 2007.
• Working to link S. Los Angeles health care providers interested in community advocacy training, with the California Medical Association Foundation's (CMAF) Physicians for Healthy Communities Initiative in 2007. Partnered with CMAF in planning, conducting and evaluating a Physicians for Healthy Community training in Los Angeles in Spring 2007.
• In the newly formed Subcommittee on Youth Engagement, Public Health Nurses, HEAC Sector Leads, Youth Health Educators, the South LA Youth Coordinator, and students prioritized the next several months' work on HEAC Youth Engagement in South LA. Topping the list were education and outreach to students at The Accelerated School (TAS), and recruitment, retention, and building a positive youth culture in a Health & Wellness youth team on campus.
• Launched the Healthy Summers project, an eight-week Education & Advocacy seminar with ten students who met twice weekly for several hours. Students scripted, recorded and hosted an hour-long set to air on the web-based Youth Radio (www.youthradio.org), helped to plan TAS's school-lunch menu, and developed recommendations on Youth Engagement for our community partners at The Apostolic Christian Faith Center.
• Several students participated in the Berkeley Media Studies Group training on Marketing & Advertising and have been working on a combined neighborhood assessment/video document entitled, "Where I Get My Five-A-Day." Videos debut at a screening on December 10, 2007.
• Providing physical education training to teachers through a "Train the Teacher" program, teaching credentialed teachers to provide physical education lessons to children grades K- 5th.
• Introduced Marathon Kids program, in which students run quarter of a mile increments to complete a full marathon over a 6 month period. Marathon Kids extends into after school in the form of a jogging club.
• Provided nutrition training to Recreation and Parks directors to support the City of Los Angeles Child Nutrition Policy.
• LAC DPH Epidemiology and Health Assessment Unit Meeting - Health sector met with these units to explore the facilitation of a community-based data training in collaboration with Community Health Councils. The training will be designed to: 1) make data more transparent and understandable and 2) more accessible to community members.
• Pediatric Weight Management Program - HEAC has partnered with QueensCare's ENERGY program and Orthopaedic Hospital to conduct a pediatric weight management program for children and their families who are patients of Orthopaedic or referred from partner agencies and health clinics such as St. John's Well Child and Family Clinic. The LAC DPH Nutrition Network's physical activity specialist has lent support to this effort by creating training materials and consulting with the ENERGY team to develop exercises that are adaptable to children with disabilities; some of the participants are confined to wheelchairs or have illnesses such as Blount's Disease that are a side effect of being overweight. The program is currently in its 4th session with 17 participants (not including family members who are also present and serve as active participants). One young girl who is wheelchair bound successfully graduated and lost weight; additionally, she is wheeling herself independently without assistance from her mother.
• Physical Education - Elementary Physical Education minutes will be met at all schools (District wide), including the HEAC schools. This is a huge accomplishment given that LAUSD has been out of compliance all four years the Department of Education (CDE) has reviewed us. (For many years physical education has been non-existent in most, if not all elementary schools. Principals were against providing the state mandated 200 minutes of physical education every 10 days all yearlong, due to a full academic focused instructional day that could not afford to allocate minutes away from core subjects. They feared that test scores would be affected).
• Physical Education: Monitoring- On top of being able to mandate that the physical education minutes are enforced, a monitoring piece has been put into place, even during these hard economic times. Mr. Cortines, LAUSD Superintendent, has agreed to hire 4 physical education advisors, 1 advisor for two Local Districts in order to have constant communication with school principals and Local District Directors, and make weekly school visits.
• Physical Education: Professional Development - Mr. Cortines has also agreed to provide support to the elementary school teachers, administrators, and Local District Directors by providing professional development in physical education. This type of professional development will be the different than the standards trainings that we currently offer in that the Local District Directors will meet with school principals to tailor trainings for all elementary school teachers. We will also provide trainings to principals and Local District Directors which we have not done before.
• School nutrition - We have strengthened the working relationship with the new Food Services staff from LAUSD and are currently working to update the LAUSD approved list which is currently outdated and not fully compliant with the new regulations that the Department of Education announced in September 2008.
• Market Makeover: Los Compadres Market and Restaurant - During the summer months of 2008, the HEAC team (eight youth, consultant, staff) began work to improve the healthy food environment of a local corner store. Work included moving unhealthy food items to less visible locations, fixing the produce refrigerator, removing clutter, and re-working aisles to ensure a more customer friendly environment. With the help of East Los Angeles Community Arts and Mural Program, a beautiful mural depicting healthy lifestyles and local culture was painted on the wall of the store that faces The Accelerated School. (Tagging of the formerly blank wall has stopped completely.) Two "community days" in November and December brought youth and community members together to finalize work on the store. On December 11th, the grand re-opening of the store took place with the presence of the Honorable Councilwoman Jan Perry, over 50 community members, community organizations, youth from the community and The Accelerated School, and media.
• HEAC Youth Presentations - On September 18th, 2008, HEAC youth presented the work of South Los Angeles HEAC at the 2008 Adolescent Health Conference, "Youth Issues 2008: Transforming Services, Transforming Communities." Youth engaged with members of community organizations, researchers and other youth regarding the challenges and successes of corner store conversions and healthy food access issues. On November 22nd, 2008, HEAC youth presented the "Where Do I Get My 5?" DVD at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California. Youth partook in an roundtable discussion with scholars, community organizations, youth and neighbors regarding the issues of food access in South Los Angeles and around the United States.
• Youth Activism Against Obesity - Beginning August 2008, South Los Angeles HEAC youth and students from The Accelerated School took part in a two year grant initiative called Youth Activism Against Obesity (YAAO). YAAO, a partnership between LA County Dept of Public Health and South Los Angeles/Baldwin Park HEAC, is youth-directed and focuses on increasing middle school and high school students' awareness of the health risks of consuming fast food, inadequate physical activity, and other behaviors that put them at risk for obesity. Youth are empowered to adopt and spread the message of healthy lifelong behaviors by developing and engaging in a social networking platform with the assistance of an advertising/PR firm. To date, 40 youth have been recruited (20 from South Los Angeles, 20 from Baldwin Park) and meet on a weekly basis to move their work forward.

School/After School Sector

• South LA HEAC has been working continuously since Sept. 2008 on a Board Implementation Plan that would smoothly implement the board resolution passed in July 08 called "Physical Education Is A Priority."
• South LA HEAC efforts resulted in a Bulletin (official policy document) issued by LAUSD being written directing all elementary teachers to teach the required 200 minutes of physical education at HEAC schools and schools district-wide.
• South LA was able to provide professional development and support to physical education teachers at the secondary and elementary levels: South LA HEAC continued to provide Physical Education Standards Trainings to all PE teachers in the district (one training in December 08, two trainings in January 09, two trainings in February 09), as well as to all PE teacher incentive program (PETIP) grant credentialed teachers (37 teachers) that are currently teaching at elementary level (two trainings in January, two trainings in February).

Neighborhood Sector

• The Grand Re-Opening of Los Compadres Market and Restaurant took place on December 11, 2008 marking another completed "market makeover" in the community. Councilwoman Jan Perry spoke to commemorate the day. Additional speakers hailed from the administration, parents, and HEAC Youth Ambassadors from The Accelerated School and the event was attended by over 50 school and community members. The event was preceded the weekend earlier by "Community Day 2" which drew on HEAC youth and community member participation in putting the final touches on the store.
• The South LA HEAC Team completed its final draft for the upcoming marketmarkets.org toolkit and website.